Indie Champs 2024: Mercury Concerts, Move Concerts & more

To celebrate the hard work of the numerous independent operators that make the live entertainment industry such a vibrant – and growing – business worldwide, IQ is publishing its inaugural Indie Champions list.

Our shortlist of 20 companies were chosen by the IQ readership and have headquarters across 11 different nations but service live events the world over, thanks to their various satellite offices and the artists and partners they work with.

The Indie Champions will become an annual staple of IQ, so if your company did not make it onto this year’s debut list, fear not, as you have a full ten months to prove your credentials to friends, colleagues, and business partners ahead of next year’s nomination process.

IQ will continue to publish entries across all categories over the coming days, and you can find the whole cohort in the latest edition of IQ here. Find part one here and part two here.

LS Events (UK)
Launched in 2004 by Jim King and later joined by Dave Grindle, Loud Sound made its name in the UK festival industry. In 2016, it welcomed Steve Reynolds to the business and has since been able to diversify across a wide range of sectors. Now a 40-strong team with a freelance network of 1,500, the company delivers event excellence across core sectors of live entertainment, sports, public sector, and major ceremonies.

“Our foundations continue to inform a culture of development and personal growth that empowers our employees to thrive,” says co-CEO Grindle. “We have taken time to think about the way that we operate to ensure that our systems and policies are meaningful. We continuously evaluate the ways in which we can support our teams, both professionally and personally. This commitment to looking after our greatest asset – our people – enables us to be adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of events.

The LS client list includes AEG Presents, UEFA, The Greater London Authority, Formula E, LIV Golf, and Pride in London

“Drawing on our expertise, we have refined our creative/operational processes to offer clients unmatched insight when curating, producing, and delivering their event stories. Our commitment to excellence is underpinned by extensive ISO accreditations, which not only hold us accountable to continual improvement but also ensure that we operate to the highest possible standards.”

The LS client list includes AEG Presents, UEFA, The Greater London Authority, Formula E, LIV Golf, and Pride in London.

Marauder (US)
Rev. Moose and his partners formed Marauder in 2015 “to work with people in music who fell between the cracks of the existing American industry.” These were people primarily based outside the US and had needs American companies weren’t set up to handle.

“So many Americans focus on one specific need rather than addressing a project’s overall goals,” notes Moose. “With Marauder, we’re set up to process what each client wants to achieve and create a complete marketing campaign based on what will actually advance a project.”

“What separates Marauder from other companies with similar services is our intention to build through service”

Since its inception, Marauder has worked to give a voice to those supporting their own music ecosystems. This mentality was the catalyst for bringing Independent Venue Week to the US in 2015, which became integral in creating the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).

Marauder’s core work revolves around building marketing strategies for companies and programmes and executing those ideas in a way that meets their goals. “What separates Marauder from other companies with similar services is our intention to build through service,” says Moose.

“All of our clients, in one way or another, are working to better their communities. We have the market knowledge and professional connections to create meaningful programmes for our clients while focusing on everyone’s core business needs.”

MCT Agentur (DE)
MCT was formed in 1984 by Die Toten Hosen manager Jochen Hülder, Rough Trade Booking Germany chief Dietrich Eggert, and tour manager Scumeck Sabottka. The trio decided to start their own company so that they could not only promote the acts they liked but also “make some real money.”

Sabottka tells IQ, “We were naive and signed deals with experienced agents in the UK that meant we only saw the downside, so in 1986, Dietrich left the company, and we nearly went broke. But I found new partners, parted ways with Jochen, and got new cash into the company.”

However, Sabottka later relied on other independent promoters to keep MCT running. “In the early 1990s, I contacted Marcel Avram through Gary Kurfirst (manager of the Ramones, who we promoted), and he sent his bagman, Bruce Glatman, who brokered for MAMA Concerts and Rau to become majority partners in MCT. I moved to Munich, and we started to make money. So, in early 2000, I bought the shares back from Marcel and Fritz [Rau] and have been independent since.”

“I bought the shares back and have been independent since”

In addition to being concert and tour promoters, MCT (which is now based in Berlin), acts as an agency, as well as managing a number of acts. The company promotes Rammstein in the European Union and Robbie Williams in Germany; it manages Yasmine Hamdan and Die Antwoord; and it is the EU agent for Marilyn Manson, Gus Gus, Hatari, and VÖK.

Its promoting roster also includes Björk, Massive Attack, Moby, New Order, Radiohead, Florence and the Machine, Pearl Jam, Janelle Monae, Four Tet, Beth Gibbons, Okay Kaya, Charlotte Day Wilson, L ́Impératrice, Trentemøller, Gorillaz, Tom Waits, and Tamino.

This year, MCT’s team of 20 full-time staff promoted around 30 Rammstein stadium shows, selling 1.3m tickets in the process. It also sold out shows for Beth Gibbons in Berlin, a Die Antwoord European tour, and sold out Marilyn Manson’s European tour in February 2025.

Mercury Concerts (BR)
Following T4F’s IPO in 2011, Jose Muniz ended his 12-year tenure at the business and went on to join XYZ Live, a company owned by media empire ABC group, which seemed to be a
good project with lots of potential. However, after one year, it tanked, and he decided it was time to bring back Mercury Concerts – a company he founded in 1980 before selling to OCESA in 2000.

After the Mercury relaunch in 2014, the first tour saw Guns N’ Roses playing 14 dates across South America. Other acts promoted by the company include KISS, Aerosmith, Rush, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, David Gilmour, Deep Purple, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Pearl Jam.

Mercury’s Monsters of Rock festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year

Unsurprisingly, given that roster of talent, Mercury is also the owner of Monsters Of Rock in the region, which has now expanded to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year.

With 15 personnel running operations between Orlando and Brazil, Mercury also relies on business with similar infrastructure in other countries, meaning it can offer clients a full team on the road, from day one till the last show of the run, making sure the artists are comfortable with the same level of production in every city of the tour.

Move Concerts (US)

Move Concerts was formed ten years ago in what was essentially a rebranding and restructuring of promoter Phil Rodriguez’s various enterprises, Water Brother Productions, Evenpro Group, and XYZ.

Move has five verticals: concert promotions, artist management, record label, publishing, and an Argentine ticketing company, Livepass. “The artist management, label, and publishing were born during the Covid years, when the live touring business shut down and many of us looked at what else we could do with our resources,” explains Rodriguez. “These were a new challenge for us, but all three are growing at a relatively fast clip, and we have a licensing deal with Warner Latin that is very strong and healthy and will allow our label and management to grow faster.”

On the concerts side, Move works with numerous artists, including Ed Sheeran and Iron Maiden, who have strong fanbases in Latin America, thanks to longstanding relationships with Rodriguez and his company.

Move Concerts will end 2024 with more than 1.1m tickets sold

With offices throughout Latin America and a HQ in Miami, Move Concerts has 53 full-time staff and will end 2024 with more than 1.1m tickets sold.

Noting 2024 tours with Iron Maiden, Paul McCartney, and Karol G, Rodriguez adds, “We had a chance to work with Ne-Yo for the first time this year, and his show is amazing. We’re also doing the LatAm leg for Keane, who are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, and they’re selling stronger than ever – we had arena dates sell out on the on-sale.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.